01.12.09
Wyeth and Santaris Pharma have entered into a worldwide strategic alliance to discover, develop and commercialize new medicines based on Santaris' Locked Nucleic Acid (LNA) drug platform, which allows specific targeting and regulation of microRNAs (miRNAs) and messenger RNAs (mRNAs) as a means to affect gene expression mediated by the targeted RNAs.
Santaris will receive an upfront payment of $7 million in cash and Wyeth will make a $10 million equity investment in the company. Santaris may receive further milestone payments of as much as $83 million for each of 10 potential targets. Santaris Pharma would receive royalties on sales of all products resulting from the alliance. The term of the research pact is three years, which Wyeth has the right to extend for an additional two years.
Wyeth will select the RNA targets against which Santaris will use its LNA drug platform to generate unique drug candidates. Wyeth will be responsible for the development and commercialization of products.
"With this alliance Wyeth explores a fourth platform technology targeting RNAs, which complements our expertise in small molecules, vaccines and protein-based therapeutics," says Mikael Dolsten, president, Wyeth Research. "This will increase our ability to develop and bring to market innovative, high-value medicines that have the potential to address significant unmet needs in critical therapeutic areas."
"We are delighted to welcome Wyeth as a new major partner," says Soren Tulstrup, president and chief executive officer of Santaris Pharma. "This strategic alliance further consolidates our leading position in the rapidly evolving RNA-based therapeutic field. The scope of this collaboration demonstrates the utility of our proprietary LNA Drug Platform for developing new therapies targeting RNAs."
Santaris will receive an upfront payment of $7 million in cash and Wyeth will make a $10 million equity investment in the company. Santaris may receive further milestone payments of as much as $83 million for each of 10 potential targets. Santaris Pharma would receive royalties on sales of all products resulting from the alliance. The term of the research pact is three years, which Wyeth has the right to extend for an additional two years.
Wyeth will select the RNA targets against which Santaris will use its LNA drug platform to generate unique drug candidates. Wyeth will be responsible for the development and commercialization of products.
"With this alliance Wyeth explores a fourth platform technology targeting RNAs, which complements our expertise in small molecules, vaccines and protein-based therapeutics," says Mikael Dolsten, president, Wyeth Research. "This will increase our ability to develop and bring to market innovative, high-value medicines that have the potential to address significant unmet needs in critical therapeutic areas."
"We are delighted to welcome Wyeth as a new major partner," says Soren Tulstrup, president and chief executive officer of Santaris Pharma. "This strategic alliance further consolidates our leading position in the rapidly evolving RNA-based therapeutic field. The scope of this collaboration demonstrates the utility of our proprietary LNA Drug Platform for developing new therapies targeting RNAs."